Redeemed
by Sithwitch 13
Summary: WIP, AU. Four years after the events of Revenge of the Sith, Darth Vader is greeted with news that his children are alive. Chapter Ten: Vader's new suit and a vision.
1. Ch 1

_Author's note: This story is heavily inspired by the idea from _Mireilles3_'s story "Dear Son." I highly recommend it. Nothing of Star Wars belongs to me, though I wish it were not so. And sad to say, but updates may be infrequent due to classes and me wanting to write good quality stuff. Reviews and constructive criticism are more than welcome._

_Author's note edit: I've decided to tweak some stuff, but this chapter is essentially the same. Thanks and gig 'em._

* * *

Ch. 1

Darth Vader, the Dark Lord of the Sith, stared out the window of his palace and brooded. It was nearly midnight, and the usual Coruscant rains were pouring outside, matching his mood perfectly. He could see the lights of the city-planet glaring, though somewhat softened and muted by the downpour. He remembered the first time he had seen the lights and rain and how fascinated he had been, then banished the memory. That was a lifetime ago.

The man who had once been known as Anakin Skywalker's mood worsened. He hated thinking of his life before. He couldn't stand thinking of the weak fool he had been, and how slavishly he had tried to be a Jedi. The Order had failed him, and he had destroyed it for that slight. Worse than the memory of his Jedi days, though, were the memories of his mother and his wife… his robotic right hand squeezed hard enough to dent the table it rested on. Those thoughts weren't allowed. He breathed in and channeled his pain and anger to tap into the Dark Side of the Force, the true source of power in the universe. He immediately felt better.

He felt the presence of an approaching human before he heard the footsteps. Before Agent Frost could open the door, she found them opened, though the room's sole occupant was on the far side of the room. As soon as she was clear of the doors, they slammed shut. Frost shuddered minutely. The Dark Lord's telekinetic tricks were the least of his powers, but even those frightened her. She bowed and waited silently, trying to ignore the heavy noise of Vader's regulated breathing.

Beneath his mask, Vader smiled, painfully pulling at scar tissue. The woman's fear of him made him feel important and powerful again. "I assume you have found what I suspected, Agent Frost."  
Frost nodded. "Yes, m'lord. This document is written in Organa's own hand. It was sent to a compromised Rebel cell two weeks ago." Frost winced inwardly as she remembered the screams of the tortured Rebels before they were able to extract the information they needed, and then steeled herself. They were anarchists, traitors to the Empire, and a cancer to society.

"Good." Vader turned his back to her and began pacing, then stopped. "You have something else on your mind, Agent?"

Frost hesitated. "M'lord, we found another document that may interest you." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a bloodstained letter. "We found it with one of the Rebels."

Frost tried to resist flinching backwards as Vader plucked the letter from her hand. Though she was not a short woman, the Dark Lord towered over her. The room was dark, though enough light came through the window to allow the letter to be read. Though the noise from his breath mask never altered, Frost could tell that he was as startled by the letter as she thought he would be.

Vader read through the letter once more, making sure that his eyes were not playing tricks on him. It was addressed to an unnamed recipient and signed by Bail himself. But what caught his attention were two simple sentences. _I can only hope that Padme's son is doing as well as her daughter. Leia is growing up to be a fine little girl. _Beneath his mask, Vader closed his eyes. He pictured Padmé on the last occasion he had seen her. His child—children—had lived. He had thought any chance of children dead after he had—

He banished the memory of the last time he'd seen Padmé, and what he had done.

"Agent Frost," he said, keeping his voice as level as possible, "you are dismissed." He paused. "Thank you."

Frost bowed and turned to leave the room, not at all surprised that the doors were open again. As she left, Vader went to his holoprojecter and pressed a button. He knelt. The familiar face of the Emperor Palpatine shimmered into existence, the old man's face showing a bit of annoyance. "The hour is late, Lord Vader. I can only assume that you have contacted me for something vitally important." Palpatine's voice was mild, and though Vader did not look up he was sure he would see purple lightening crackle through his master's eyes.

"It is indeed a matter of great importance, my master. My agents have contacted me with proof of Bail Organa's allegiance with the Rebellion." Vader hesitated. "They also have evidence that my daughter is with him."

"Daughter?" The Emperor sounded genuinely surprised. "This is indeed an important development. The child would have great potential."

"I ask your permission to raise her. She is of a young age and could be a powerful asset on our side."

Palpatine sat back on his throne. "Indeed. Very well." Vader looked up. "Tomorrow you shall personally go and take care of the Alderaanian traitor and reclaim what is yours."

"Thank you, my master." Vader bowed deeply and the Emperor's hologram cut out. The Dark Lord stood up and walked back to his window. _Tomorrow_, he thought, _I will claim my daughter. And one day, I will find my son, as well._

* * *

The little girl hid under her bed, stifling her sobs of fear with a worn stuffed pitten. She had been sound asleep when her maid burst into the room and told her to hide, because there were bad people in the palace. So now here she was, huddled up and trying to stay silent.

She could distantly hear blasterfire and screaming. She closed her eyes and tried to shut that out. She squeezed the stuffed animal tighter as she heard the door to her room open. She knew that if she moved, she might make a noise, but she needed to see who was there. She opened her eyes and edged closer to the side of the bed and saw white booted feet. She heard a voice say "Lord Vader, we've found the girl's room" and held back a cry. _What did I do? Why are they looking for me?_

She held still as long as she could. But then she saw a pair of big black boots stride into the room and heard deep, scary breathing. She was reminded of a story that her daddy had told her once about a monster that stole children, and wondered now if the story was true. To her horror, the boots stopped right in front of her.

Vader could feel the fear in the air. It was the work of a moment to reach out with the Force and discover that Leia was hiding under the bed. But how to get her out? "Leia, I know that you are here, and no one is going to hurt you," he said, trying to make his voice as calm and soothing as it could be through the filters and mask. He nodded to the stormtroopers, who left the room. "I promise."

"How do you know my name?" asked the little girl before she could stop herself. Vader could hear the clap of her hand against her mouth as she realized what she had done.

"I've been looking for you. You are a very special little girl, and I've come to take you home."

Leia crawled out from under the bed, looking dirty, her face tear streaked, and clutching her stuffed animal to her fiercely. "I AM home," she said, looking scared and confused. Vader's heart ached for a moment, seeing Padme in her face.

"You may have grown up here, but your home is with me," he said, kneeling down and still towering over her. "You know that Bail Organa is not your real father, don't you?" She nodded slowly. "Did he tell you your parents were dead?" She nodded again. "He was not telling you the truth," he said, trying to sound soothing. "Your mother is dead, but your father is not."

The little girl quirked her head, her curiosity getting the better of her fear. "He isn't?"

"No," said Vader. "I am your father."

Leia took a step towards him. "Really?"

"Yes. I only found out where you were yesterday. I would have been here sooner if I had known." He reached out and wiped a smudge of dust from her face. "You look like your mother."

"That's what Daddy always says," she said automatically, and then checked herself. "Daddy Bail, I mean." She hugged her stuffed pitten to herself again. "What's going to happen to me now?"

"You will be coming to live with me. Your father was a traitor to the Empire, and he stole you and your brother from me."

"My brother?"

"Yes. You have a twin brother out there somewhere. We shall find him someday."

Leia looked down, contemplating her new situation. "What's going to happen to Daddy?"

Vader winced inwardly. He felt jealous knowing that his daughter thought of another as her father, even if he had only known about her for a handful of hours. "You will not be seeing him anymore. He betrayed his Emperor."

"Oh." Though it was only one word, and though she was quite young, Vader thought she might understand what the full implication of that was. She straightened up. "If I'm going with you, I need to take some of my things. And I can't go in a nightgown."

Vader smiled beneath the mask. "Of course." So much like Padmé, who insisted on doing the same thing when he took her back to Naboo.

He waited patiently as Leia went into her closet and came out wearing a sturdy blue dress clearly made for traveling, and holding a small backpack and her stuffed pitten. "I'm ready now." She looked up at him. "What's your name? And what am I supposed to call you?"

He looked at her and thought. No, it wouldn't do for her to know him as either Anakin Skywalker (who he no longer was) or Darth Vader. "You can call me father."

* * *

Bail Organa spat blood and knew he was going to die.

His mind accused him with every breath he took. He had made a mistake, he hadn't been smart enough, he had been overconfident, he may have hired a spy… no matter the reason, it had alerted the Empire to his involvement in the Rebellion. As a traitor, he would be tried privately (or publicly, if Palpatine was feeling particularly vindictive) and then executed. Hopefully, their trail stopped at him… belatedly, he wondered if he should've sent a message to Garm Bel Iblis or Mon Mothma to warn them, or if that would only get them captured, too.

He heard the ominous sound of a pair of boots approaching, and gave an involuntary start at the sight of Vader, which earned him a cuff on the head from one of the stormtroopers who had captured him. Bail was one of the few people who knew that Darth Vader had once been Anakin Skywalker, Jedi Knight, husband and murderer of Senator and former Queen Padme Amidala. Bail had been at his colleague's side as she had given birth to Leia and her twin brother Luke, and had seen her die a handful of seconds later. He had never forgiven Skywalker—_Vader_—for that. Padme had been a friend.

"You!" he spat at Vader. "I should have known."

"You would be wise to speak when spoken to, Senator." Vader looked down at Bail, exuding contempt. The lack of his royal title only added to that.

Bail didn't correct him. "I demand to know what is going on. Why have you raided my household? My staff—"

"You are part of the Rebel Alliance and a traitor."

"Prove it," spat Bail.

"Not only was a letter from you intercepted on the way to a doomed Rebel cell—" Bail winced to think of what had happened to those poor people—"but you have stolen something very personal from me."

"I have done no such thing," Bail snarled.

Vader took a step in, towering over Bail. "My _daughter._"

The blood drained from Bail Organa's face.

"Yes. I know. Not only did you steal her mother from me, you stole my children. You thought I would never know." Bail's heart began to race faster as his throat constricted. He was glad his wife had died a year previously, knowing she was safe from retribution by this monster. "You _stole_ everything that I ever loved!" Vader was yelling now, raging and crazy. Bail tried to say something, _anything_, but his larynx was being slowly crushed by Vader's invisible fist.

With a sudden inarticulate cry of rage, Vader raised his fist. Bail flew up in the air, suspended by Vader's use of the Force. He closed his eyes, knowing the end was painfully near. He was correct. Vader bashed Bail's head against the wall, again and again, until there was nothing left.

Vader stopped some time later. His respirator breathed its inexorable rhythm in the silent room. The stormtroopers were still at parade rest, silent. Vader could feel their fear of him, hanging like a sour odor in the blood-spattered room. Without a word, he turned and walked out, his cape flaring behind him. The troopers followed him back to his shuttle, where his daughter and her attendants awaited him.


	2. Ch 2

_Author's Note: Thanks to those who've been reading, especially Lurkz for listening to me ramble about plot points and to White-Tigers-of-Darkness, preciousbabyblue, and HarriettaPotter for reviewing. Hopefully I'll keep to a fairly consistant schedule while updating this, though with finals and Aggiecon coming up, that's questionable, so please bear with me. Once again, I don't own Star Wars or the characters, and reviews are welcomed and encouraged._

_Author's note edit: I've decided to tweak some stuff, but this chapter is essentially the same. Thanks and gig 'em._

* * *

Ch. 2

On Vader's shuttle, Leia sat strapped into her seat and fidgeted. Two of the palace's droids, a golden protocol unit and a silver-and-blue astromech, had been assigned by Vader to accompany them back to Coruscant. They had been walking out of the palace when they had run across the rounded-up palace droids. The astromech's beeping and the protocol unit's begging for his companion's silence had attracted Vader's attention. He had stopped, stared for a long while, and ordered them to stay with her on the shuttle while he went somewhere else.

Leia looked over at them. The protocol droid and the astromech were currently bickering. She could only understand the protocol droid's side of the argument, as the astromech's language consisted of beeping.

"What do you mean, 'bad feeling'? You'd prefer being melted down or used for hard labor?"

Defiant beeps.

"And what exactly is _that_ supposed to mean!"

Raspberry.

"Why, you—"

The protocol unit was interrupted and silenced by Vader's sudden presence. He swept by the droids and sat down in the seat across from Leia. Normally, he preferred to fly himself, but given the circumstances… "We are on the way to my ship, the _Executor_," he informed Leia. "After that, I shall take you to Coruscant. You will meet the Emperor in two days."

"The Emperor himself?" she gasped. Although she was only four, she knew how important Emperor Palpatine was.

"Yes. He is my Master. I am his apprentice."

"Apprentice what?"  
He paused, trying to figure out how to explain the Sith to a four-year-old. "He may rule the galaxy, but that is insignificant compared to his true power. He is the master of the Sith, and ancient order who use the Force for power."

"Like the Jedi?"

Vader winced. "The Jedi were weak and flawed. That is why they no longer exist." He felt, and noticed, Leia's sudden discomfort. "What?"

"Daddy Bail said you killed the Jedi because you were scared of them."

Vader felt rage pour through him. He wanted to kill Organa all over again. "I destroyed the Jedi because they betrayed me. Did Bail ever tell you how the Jedi stole children younger than you from their parents?" She shook her head. "Because of the Jedi, your mother and grandmother are dead, your twin brother is missing, and I have to rely on machines to keep me alive. A Jedi helped your father steal you and your brother from me before you were born. Because of the Jedi, I did not know that you were alive until now."

Leia looked at Vader, wide-eyed. She had always been told that Jedi were everything good in the universe. Hearing this made her unsure of that. "I didn't mean to make you mad," she said, tearing up. She angrily wiped her face before any tears could fall. It wouldn't do to be a baby in front of her real father when he had just shown her how strong he had been despite all that.

Vader felt suddenly bad and awkward, and more like Anakin Skywalker than he had felt in years. "You didn't make me mad. The Jedi did. But now they are gone, and the evil they caused must be lived with. I found you, despite their best efforts to hide you from me. And now we can be a family."

Leia composed herself. "What's Coruscant like?"

Vader smiled to himself, once again remembering the first time he had seen the capital of the galaxy, and this time not banishing the memory. "It is a giant city. Most of it is not safe for a little girl like you, so you will be staying with me in my palace, or sometimes in the Emperor's palace."

"Does it have lakes?"

"One natural lake. Coruscant is covered in city, so very little of the original planet remains. It isnt at all like Alderaan. There are a few parks and preserves, though."

Leia was silent again for a handful of moments. "What was my mother like?"

Vader stayed silent, trying to compose his thoughts. "She was the most incredible woman I have ever met. She was smart, and strong, and everything good in my life. The Jedi made her betray me. I thought I hated her after that, but… it was the Jedi."

"How did she die?"

Vader was silent once again. He didn't like to think about that. "My former master, Obi-wan Kenobi, stole her from me after he forced her to betray me. He left me nearly dead and I never saw her again, though I felt her death in the Force."  
"So he killed her?"

Vader thought to himself. Better she believe that than the truth. "Yes."

Leia looked solemn. "Is Obi-wan Kenobi still alive?"

"I do not know. I would like to think that he is not, but I know better."

Leia considered this for a while. Then the thought was seemingly out of her mind and she was once again a bright, curious child. "Do you have magic powers?"

"Not magic," said Vader, sounding amused. "But yes. The Force gives me power to do great things and simple tricks." He made a gesture, and her stuffed pitten floated up from beside her seat and into her lap. She gasped. "That is the very least of what I am able to do. I had hoped to train you."

"Me?" she gasped.

"Yes. Assuming you have the abilities, I can train you in the ways of the Sith."

"I think I'd like that."

"It will not be easy. But it will make you powerful."

Leia sat and nodded to herself. The shuttle docked and ended their conversation. Vader, Leia, the two droids, and a contingent of stormtroopers exited the shuttle. Leia seemed amazed by the _Executor_, which was the size of a small city. Vader suspected it was her first time off-planet. He left Leia and the droids in one of the extra officer's quarters. It would have to do until they reached Coruscant. Vader wondered what exactly was needed to convert one of the spare rooms in his palace into a little girl's room. He shook his head. Better start getting her used to utilitarian quarters. It wouldn't do to coddle a future Sith. He'd figure it out later.

* * *

He made his way to his communication chamber and knelt. Palpatine's giant hologram looked down at him. "It is done?"

"Yes, my master. Organa is dead, and my daughter accompanies me back to Coruscant. There is much potential in her, though untrained."

"Good." Palpatine nodded and smiled, showing yellow teeth. "Bring her to me as soon as you arrive, Lord Vader."

"Yes, my master." The hologram winked out and Vader stood again. He walked to his quarters, intending to meditate and spend some time in his hyperbaric chamber before checking on Leia. He didn't feel much like leaving her alone in this new place, though if those two droids were who he thought they were, she wouldn't be bored. It was doubtful they'd remember him, as they had most likely had their memories wiped, but the idea that his and Padme's droids were caring for his daughter was a rather heartening one. Odd how that wasn't as sickening a feeling as it would have been only a week ago… He stopped as he reached his chambers and considered this. The Dark Side was fueled by strong emotion, hatred being one of them. _Love is a strong emotion. Therefore, my connection to the Dark Side is not compromised._ Thus satisfied for the moment, he entered his room and closed the door.


	3. Ch 3

_Author's Note: Haha, finally I have not one, but TWO chapters to post! Hope you enjoy them, they took me several weeks of writer's block to overcome :-P Thanks to the okanobe, ChristineAngelOfMusic, Serabiwarrior 88 and the other readers. Special thanks to Lurkz for proofreading and being such a good sounding board. And thanks to my fiancée, even though he doesn't come to FF.N, for putting up with me talking incessantly about plot and character arcs. Lucas and Lucasfilm own it, I'm just playing in it. :-P_

_Oh, and spoiler alert for Ep. 3. Just so you're doubly warned._

* * *

Ch. 3

The trip from Alderaan to Coruscant was not a long one. Leia spent most of it sleeping in the spare officer's quarters. _Understandably_, Vader thought. She had just been torn from everything and everyone she'd ever known in her short life and was about to start a new one. He found himself remembering how all he'd wanted to do once he'd left Tattooine was sleep, but the sudden cold of space had made it difficult. He shrugged the sentiment off then strode in the room to wake her.

She stirred the second his boots echoed off the floor. "Where am I?" she asked sleepily, rubbing at her eyes and sitting up. Vader saw recognition hit her. "Oh yeah."

"We have arrived at Coruscant," he told her. "We shall be taking my shuttle to my palace."

Leia nodded and sat up. She picked up her stuffed pitten and her bag from where she had left it on the floor and looked up at him expectantly. He walked out with her at his side and the two droids following them. Leia was surprisingly quiet on the way to the shuttle and down to the landing pad. Vader could sense her apprehension. "What's the Emperor like?" she finally asked, as the shuttle prepared to land.

"He is a great man and a powerful Sith," Vader responded. "He was a friend and mentor to me when I was younger, and now he is the only man in the Empire that I respect."

Leia nodded to herself. "What will he think of me?"

"I cannot say. I do not think that he would disapprove of his most loyal follower's daughter, though."

"I'm still scared."

Vader nodded. "Fear is a part of life. Take it and let it make you stronger."

Leia stared blankly.

Vader sighed and reminded himself that he was speaking to a four-year-old. Before he could speak, the shuttle made its landing. "You'll understand when you're older," he settled for telling her as the stood and exited.

* * *

The next morning, Leia was awake and wearing a somber black dress when Vader came to collect her. The previous evening had been spent showing her the rooms she had been assigned in Vader's palace, and sending her droid attendants to procure some new clothes and a datapad for her. 

She accompanied him to the transport, a modified, heavily armored airspeeder. Vader had warned his daughter to be on her best behavior and to only speak when spoken to. Leia was determined to make her father proud of her.

She regarded him silently, wondering again what he looked like under his armor. She had asked him the night before, as he watched her eat. "It is better for you to not know," he had replied.

After what seemed like an eternity, they reached Vader's personal hangar in the Imperial Palace. Fear crawled in Leia's belly. Now, however, she knew what to do with it. "Focus on it," her father had instructed her the night before. "Picture it as a living thing." She did so, seeing in her mind a snarling nek battle dog. "Now control it. Keep it so it can strengthen you." In her mind, she held the fear-nek on a thick chain leash, ready to attack whatever target she commanded it to.

Vader looked down at her, sensing her running through the exercise, and nodded appreciatively. "Very good, Leia."

She beamed a smile up at him, then sobered when she saw the Emperor's infamous red Guardsmen standing outside a fancy-looking door. She steeled herself to meet the ruler of the galaxy.

The Guardsmen stepped aside, one of them opening the door as he did so. Vader entered the room, and Leia followed behind him.

The room was on the dim side. Leia's eyes took a minute to adjust, but she soon noticed the desk they approached, and the man sitting in the high-backed chair behind it. Emperor Palpatine gave a cursory nod to Vader and Leia as he glanced through some reports from sector governors. Vader kneeled before the desk. Leia, unsure of what to do, followed his example by dropping into the courtesy that her maids on Alderaan had worked hard on drilling into her.

"Rise, Lord Vader. Lady Naberrie." Vader and Leia stood. Vader had chosen to give Leia her mother's surname, as Anakin Skywalker was for all intents and purposes dead to him. Palpatine looked away from the reports, and down at Leia. Leia tried to hold his gaze, but dropped it. She wanted to picture her fear-nek growling at him, but that seemed… wrong. She imagined it growling at the Crimson Guards again, instead.

The Emperor cackled, giving her a glimpse of rotted teeth as she looked up. "Yes, Lord Vader, your daughter is indeed strong with the Force. I see you are teaching her to use her fear."  
"Yes, my master."  
Palpatine nodded. "You may raise and train her." He paused and his face developed a contemplative look. "I have decided to train a child about her age to be my agent. Your daughter will train alongside her, though you will instruct Leia in the ways of the Force."

Vader's voice showed no emotion as he answered, "Thank you, my master."

"I have instructed my public relations people to arrange for your daughter's existence to be made public."

Now Vader's voice registered surprise. "Are you sure that is wise?"

"Do you dare question my judgment?" snapped the Emperor.

"Forgive me, my master."

Palpatine frowned and continued. "They have arranged for a public presentation for her tomorrow. It will be announced that she is the daughter of Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Naberrie. Your tragic story will finally be told, my apprentice."

"Anakin Skywalker is dead to me."

"Be that as it may, the revelation can be useful. The tale of how the Jedi killed your wife and disfigured you can only cement the image of the Jedi Order as a cabal of traitors. Anakin Skywalker, the public's beloved Hero Without Fear, betrayed and effectively murdered by those he once trusted."

Vader bowed his head. "It will be as you say, my master."

"After the presentation, there is a Moff on Sullust that I want you to see to. He has been harboring Rebel cells. Deal with him as you see fit."

"Yes, my master." Vader nodded his head once more.

"That will be all." The Emperor waved his hand dismissively at Vader and Leia and returned to the reports he had been perusing. Vader bowed, Leia curtseyed, and they left.

* * *

The Emperor's public relations team was staffed by the best of the best. They did everything from shade holonet broadcast to carefully work in revisionist history to starting rumors about those suspected of less-than-perfect loyalty to the Empire. In addition, they were in charge of organizing the public events and galas that those in power seemed to love. Vader, unsurprisingly, despised both the public relations team and the galas they threw. 

Vader and Leia arrived a few hours into the production, partially because Leia needed to be fitted for something the public relations representative deemed "appropriate" and mostly because Vader did not want to be there. Sure enough, it was the same play he had come to loathe while in Palpatine's service. Dignitaries and their assistants sipped expensive wine, ate expensive food, and listened to music played by select members of the Coruscant Symphony Orchestra.

Leia was enthralled, of course. He could feel her wonder and knew that this was the first event like this she had ever been to. Children were left with the hired help while their parents attended and made political alliances and the like. Vader heard Leia gasp in delight as she saw the dress of an Imperial Admiral's companion for the night. He felt a prickle of irritation, and then dismissed it. _Let her have her magic night. There will not be many more after she begins her training._

Tel Borache, the Emperor's majordomo, noticed their arrival and motioned to the holocams. Borache was a middle-aged human male who had replaced Mas Amedda when the Empire and its anti-alien policies had been firmly established. Vader and Leia made their way across the room to a raised dais where Palpatine sat in an ornate, throne-like chair.

Borache pounded on the floor with his staff of office. Immediately, the music and chatter stopped and all eyes turned to the dais. Vader could feel the curiosity of the crowd, most likely wondering who the child accompanying the dreaded Darth Vader was.

Palpatine stood, surreptitiously activating a tiny microphone that amplified his voice to be heard by the guests. "My friends, this is a joyous occasion for the Empire. This child you see has been lost since her birth, stolen by Jedi and traitors. But now, she has been reclaimed by her father, Lord Vader." A gasp of surprise rippled through the crowd. "I present to you Leia Naberrie, daughter of Anakin Skywalker and the beloved former senator of Naboo, Padmé Naberrie." The gasps had turned into outright murmurs. "Anakin Skywalker was once a hero of the Republic, and remained the only Jedi faithful to both myself and the principles I stood for. He married Senator Naberrie in secret, only to have her killed by the Jedi and her unborn child stolen by the traitor Bail Organa." Palpatine spat the name, and there was another uneasy rush of emotion through the crowd. "The Jedi betrayed Anakin Skywalker and left him for dead. He lived, and abandoned his former life and identity to serve me."

Palpatine motioned to Vader, who growled inwardly. "Anakin Skywalker is dead," he informed the crowd, reciting the speech that the Emperor's writers had written for him. "The Jedi who betrayed me and rebelled against the Republic are dead. Such is the fate of traitors." He made a quick scan of the room, gauging reactions for later use. Sure enough, there was a senator or two present whose reactions seemed that of possible Rebels. He made a note of their names and continued. "My daughter is a child of the Empire—"

He stopped in mid-sentence, feeling a sudden prickle in the Force. A nanosecond later, blaster shots rang out. They were directed at Leia.

Vader reacted instinctively. He reached down and out, absorbing the bolts into his outstretched hand before they could hit his child and blocking Leia from view behind his cape. With his other hand, he pushed Leia down to the floor. "Stay down!" he ordered her.

"Rebels!" screamed a woman in the crowd. This seemed to be the instant for those who hadn't dropped to the floor to panic, making Vader's job innumerably harder. He leaped off the dais, pulling his lightsaber from his belt and igniting the blade. He ran towards the general area where the blaster shots had come from, forcing his mechanical legs to move for all they were worth. Things seemed to slow. The assassin, a blonde human woman wearing the attire of the catering staff, hadn't even lowered her blaster. The expression on her face changed from one of determination to one of fear as the monstrous figure of Darth Vader charged at her, crimson lightsaber at the ready. Within an instant, the lightsaber had sliced through her blaster arm and knocked her backwards.

Vader grabbed her by the throat and brought her to eye level with him. "Who are you working for?" he demanded, shaking her for emphasis. She worked her mouth a few times, making feeble choking sounds. Then there was a subtle crack and her eyes rolled back in her head. Vader blinked in surprise under his mask. He hadn't gripped her hard enough to break her neck, as he wanted an answer. A quick analysis by the olfactory system of his helmet revealed the presence of cyanide. _She must have bitten a poison capsule._ Vader threw her body down in disgust and hurried back to Leia, who was still lying on the dais.

Leia looked up at her father, her face pale and her eyes round. She began to cry. Vader picked her up and held her comfortingly, like his mother used to hold him as a child. He turned and faced Palpatine, who was sitting on his chair and surrounded by his guards. "May I take your leave, my master?"

Palpatine nodded dismissively, a displeased look on his face. "I shall order a report delivered to you as soon as we have information," he told Vader. "In the meantime, there is still the matter of the Sullustan Moff."

Vader bowed again and turned to leave. Leia still clung to him, crying softly.


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's Note: So here's the next chapter, hope you enjoy it. Serabiwarrior­88 and Jokeristheking: I hadn't planned on including the reactions of Padmé's family or the Naboo, but now that I think about it, it could figure in later on, so thanks for the suggestion. Cheesemaiden: just wait until I finish the next chapter or two, I think you'll be happy :-P And thanks to everyone else that read and reviewed, I hope you continue to like the story 'cuz I'm loving writing it! Oh, and for legality's sake: I don't own Star Wars or any of these characters except for the ones I make up._

_Oh, and spoiler alert for Ep. 3. Just so you're doubly warned._

Ch. 4

_Tattooine, 13 years after the formation of the First Galactic Empire_

Luke Skywalker fiddled with the controls on his T-16 Skyhopper. He was so intent on his task that he didn't even notice the two figures standing just outside the door to the garage.

"He gets like this when he's upset," Beru Lars told the other person. "Tinkering with that thing seems to calm him down."

"What happened?"  
Beru signed and looked down at the floor. "Owen and I got in an argument over this. I know Owen just wants to protect him… Shmi was a good woman, and it breaks Owen's and my hearts to think of what happened to her, and what her son became. He thinks that telling Luke is only going to set him up for more tragedy."

"And you?"  
Beru bit her lip and was silent for a few seconds. "I think he needs to know." She nodded to herself. "I know it will hurt him, but I can't lie to him anymore. And he's so reckless… I heard about Leia. Vader _has_ to be looking for Luke." Tears welled up in her eyes. "He needs to know so he can be safe. And he needs to learn to keep himself on the right path, in case…" Her voice failed her. Obi-wan Kenobi put a hand on her shoulder as she wiped away a stray tear.

"I agree, Beru. And I'm sorry to cause trouble between you and Owen, but this has to be done. Luke's in terrible danger, whether we like it or not, and I'll not have him caught completely unawares."

Beru nodded and wiped under her eyes, composing herself. She looked up, took a deep breath, and took a step inside the garage's doorway. "Luke?"

Luke didn't look up. "Yes, Aunt Beru?"

"Luke, someone's here to talk to you."

Luke finally tore himself away from the skyhopper. He gave his aunt a quizzical look. "Who?"

Obi-wan stepped inside and removed the hood of his robe. "Old Ben?" Luke asked before he could stop himself. He was immediately thankful that he didn't use the name his friends did: "Crazy Ben." The last time Luke had seen the old hermit was when Uncle Owen had caught the man snooping around the farm and chased him off with a blaster rifle.

Far from being offended, the old man gave a quiet smile. "That's me. But I prefer you call me Ben." Luke's face reddened and his aunt gave him a warning look.

"Sorry," Luke mumbled.

Beru looked at Obi-wan. "I'll be in the kitchen if you need me." Obi-wan nodded and took a closer look at Luke.

_He looks so much like Anakin did at that age,_ Obi-wan thought with grief. Granted, he was shorter, his hair was longer and bleached by Tattooine's binary suns, and he carried himself more furtively than his father's cocky demeanor. But the eyes were the same, as was the openness of the expression of mingled interest and curiosity he wore. "Yes?" Luke finally asked.

Obi-wan snapped himself out of his reverie, noting that Luke was a lot more polite than the similarly-aged Anakin. "Sorry," he said. "Thinking of… old times."

Luke's facial expression never changed, but Obi-wan got a distinct "old people are weird" impression from the boy.

"Luke," he said, unsure of how to begin, "I need to tell you something. It'll be hard for you to hear and harder for me to tell."  
"Is Uncle Owen all right?" Luke asked suddenly, a scared look jumping onto his face.

"He's fine. This is about you."

"Me?"

"More or less… what do you know about your parents?"

Luke shrugged. "My father was a pilot killed in the Clone Wars and my mother died in childbirth. Why?"

"That's true enough, up to a certain point."

"What do you mean?" Luke asked suspiciously.

"I knew your parents, Luke. Your mother was an incredible woman, and your father was like a brother to me. Anakin and I were Jedi Knights at the end of the Republic."

"You were Jedi?" Luke said incredulously, drawing back in fear and disgust.

"Yes. The Jedi Order was _not_ what they've taught you in school," said Obi-wan distastefully. "We were the guardians of the Republic for millennia. Our downfall was our inability to change, _not_ a lust for power. Stagnation was what made it so easy for Palpatine to get in power and turn people against us. That and the aid of one misguided Jedi: my pupil, my brother… Anakin Skywalker."

"What!" Luke exploded. "No, that's… that _can't_ be."  
"I didn't want to believe it either. I thought I knew him so well… but in the end, his fear of loss, the lies that Palpatine told him, the mistrust of the Jedi Council, his own arrogance and my own shortcomings as a teacher led to his fall. He changed so much. He loved your mother, he really did. They married in secret. I didn't know, until after…" The faraway look on Obi-wan's face returned, but he shook himself out of it and returned to his tale. "He thought Palpatine was his friend, the father figure he never had and I could never be. His misguided loyalty for the man made him turn from the Jedi, embrace the Sith, and help hunt down and destroy us. Padmé—your mother—didn't believe me when I told her of what her husband had done. I don't blame her. If I hadn't seen what he'd done firsthand, I wouldn't have believed, either."

Obi-wan closed his eyes as he remembered what had happened next. "Padmé wouldn't tell me where Anakin had gone. I… hid on her ship as she went to him. We landed on Mustafar, a volcanic planet, where Anakin had… eliminated the heads of the Separatists. I heard enough to confirm that Anakin's lust for power frightened Padmé. I chose the wrong moment to be seen… Anakin thought Padmé had betrayed him, and he… hurt your mother. We fought. At the end, he was mutilated and burnt nearly beyond recognition, but unrepentant. I left him there.

"I should have killed him."

Luke's expression was one of horror.

"I took your mother to a safe place. She was gravely injured and died shortly after giving birth to you… and your twin sister."

Luke shook his head in disbelief. "Sister?"

"Yes. It's because of her that I'm telling you this. You see, after I left Mustafar, Palpatine came and took what was left of his apprentice. He'd invested far too much in him to let him die like his previous students. So he had him turned into a cyborg. Luke… your father is now known as Darth Vader."

Words had failed Luke. The boy sat there, tears starting to run down his face, as he absorbed the information. "And my sister?" he finally rasped.

"She was taken to Alderaan. We thought she would be safe there. But somewhere there was a slip, and nine years ago, Vader came to collect the daughter he thought long dead. He has surely been training her in the ways of the Sith. I don't know if he knows abut you for certain, but it's better to assume that he does."

"Better? Why?"

"It gives us time to prepare. Luke, if you had been born twenty years ago, you'd have been trained as a Jedi. The Force is strong with you. Haven't you ever felt what was going to happen before it occurred? That's the Force, trying to speak to you. The Force is life. A Jedi can learn to work with it through inner peace, and use it for good. The Sith, however… they use their rage to make the Force obey them. To them, the Force, and all life, is a tool with which they attain power. They twist it, and it becomes the Dark Side of the Force. I want to teach you the Jedi ways so that you can protect yourself from the temptation to use the Dark Side."

"I… I…"

"It's your decision. I'll let you think on it. But I feel that it would be the best way to protect you."

Obi-wan turned and began to walk out, to let Beru know that the task was done and Luke needed her and Owen to support him. "Ben?"

He turned. "Yes?"  
"I want to learn the ways of the Force and become a Jedi, like my father." The statement sounded like it should have come from someone far older than Luke's thirteen years.

Obi-wan gave Luke a sad smile, and walked out.


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's Note: Sorry for the delay, but real life was insane for a while there. Full-time classes and working two jobs at one point'll do that to you. Thanks to Scott for his help, and wave to Lurkz, who is being a crazy air force officer. Thanks to all those who reviewed, and once again, constructive criticism is welcome and encouraged. Hopefully the next chapter will come easier than this one did! I do not own Star Wars._

Ch. 5

_Coruscant, 15 years after the formation of the First Galactic Empire_

"Come on, hit me harder! Is that all you got, princess?"

Leia narrowed here eyes and dropped into a crouch. Across the mat, her sparring partner adopted a deceptively casual stance. "You're going to regret that, Jade," Leia retorted. She suddenly launched herself into the air, flipping around so that when she landed, she was behind her friend. Mara was waiting, with a somewhat predictable side kick. Leia rolled with it, using her legs to tangle up her friend and drag her down as well. They grappled until Leia was able to wrench Mara's arm back in a particularly painful lock. Mara let go of Leia and started beating frantically on the mat with her free hand.

"I give, I give," Mara said through gritted teeth. Leia laughed and released her.

They stood, Mara rotating her shoulder in its socket and Leia rubbing at a forming bruise on her leg from where she had been elbowed. "So what're you doing later?" Mara asked.

Leia shrugged and started a cool down stretch. "Breaking the news to Father about the Empire Day ball."

"Ooh. I don't envy you that one. Sometimes it's good to not have parents." Mara cracked her neck, winced, and began to stretch as well. "Though I must admit, I am jealous sometimes."

"If it makes you feel any better, my mother's dead," Leia answered, frowning and stretching out her sides.

"Didn't mean to offend. It's just… the Emperor's an incredible man, and the closest I have to a father, but it's not the same. I'm his servant. And that's fine with me, but sometimes I wonder what the whole family thing would have been like."

"Overrated," Leia said, and the two started laughing. They both knew how devoted Leia was to her father.

Mara Jade and Leia had become friends as small children, while being taught by a tutor. As they grew older, they began combat training together, as well. Lately, they had even started sparring with lightsabers, though never without the supervision of either Vader or Palpatine. Their afternoon teras käsi sparring was just an informal time for them to keep sharp while enjoying the company. While they knew that all their training was to hone them into Imperial agents and assassins, it was always fun to just unwind.

"So does Daddy know about that handsome Lieutenant you've been spending so much time with?"

Leia made a face and shook her head. "No. And he doesn't need to. Nothing happened. Besides, he got transferred off world two days ago."

"Shame."

"Yeah."

The two continued their banter in the easy way that friends do. In the back of their minds was the knowledge that due to the Sith tradition of the apprentice killing the master, they might one day be at odds. While their loyalty was both firmly with the Emperor, Leia was still her father's daughter and fiercely loyal to him, and through him the Emperor. Mara had no such middle ground. In truth, there was an underlying tension between her and Vader. But for the moment, none of that mattered.

Leia stood and grabbed her equipment bag. "Well, I'm off. I'll see you tonight."

"Sure thing," Mara called. "Good luck."

Leia exited the palace gym and made her way to her speeder, parked in Vader's personal hangar. She expertly negotiated her way through Coruscant's busy skies, reminiscing for a short period of time how her father had personally taught her all he knew about flying, both spacecraft and speeders. _I'll never be as good as him, but I'm not bad._

Once back at her father's palace, she rinsed off in the 'fresher and began to ready herself for the Empire Day celebration. Leia shook out the ankle-length sapphire dress and put it on. She examined herself critically. It wasn't anywhere near her tastes—she preferred sensible dark clothing that was functional as well as allowing her to blend into crowds—but this much more appropriate for the role she was playing tonight. Still, the dress, which was cut low in the front, lower in the back, and slit to show quite a bit of leg, was both uncomfortable and left no room for weapons other than a vibroshiv that was very awkward to reach for. She pinned up her shoulder-length brown hair and attached a long blonde wig, expertly styled into some sort of extravagant upsweep and decked with blue jewels. She put on some cosmetics in what she had been told were fashionable shades for the season and slipped on her shoes, insanely expensive and uncomfortable things that she would have to kick off in case she needed to run for any reason. The effect was exactly what she had been going for: someone _extremely_ not her.

Leia took a deep breath and steeled herself for her father's reaction. He had returned the day before from a "motivational" assignment to the Maw Instillation, and was not in the best of moods. _Not that he ever really is…_ Leia worried for her father. Ever since she first came to live with him, he hated leaving her. For about three years after the assassination attempt, he had insisted on bringing her with him wherever the Emperor ordered him to go. _I guess never finding out why that woman shot at me made him paranoid. I can't say I'm happy about it, either._

And now, despite the fact that she was trained by the best to defend herself and her Emperor, he still didn't like leaving her. _I suppose the whole being kidnapped by Jedi incident didn't help with that._ Which brought up another worry Leia had: her father was losing hope. He had a retainer of his agents on call to search for her missing twin, and had for as long as she remembered. But it was eleven years later and there was still no trace of him. _I don't even know his name._ Leia felt the usual burst of anger when she considered this. _Blasted Jedi—they took everything from us._

Another thing to worry about: her father's melancholy whenever he spoke of her mother. Leia thought she understood. He had loved her deeply, and still did. The presence of his daughter, though, sometimes seemed to remind him of unpleasant things. The fact that she strongly resembled Padmé Naberrie didn't help. Sometimes he got into dark moods, even for a Sith. Leia had learned it was best to stay away from him when that happened. He had never hurt her, nor threatened to, but the air around him always felt as if it was ready to spin itself into a black hole and devour anything that came into its path.

_Enough worry. You're only dawdling so you don't have to face him. Don't be a coward, just get it over with._ Leia sighed, hearing the truth in her mind's voice. She entered the room that Vader currently occupied. He was standing at the window, hands clasped behind his back, surveying the cityscape in the dying sunlight. He turned.

"You are not leaving this palace dressed like that," were the first words he spoke.

Mentally, Leia rolled her eyes. "Father, I mean you all due respect, but yes I am."

"Go on," he said, his deep voice sounding ominous.

"The Emperor discussed this with Mara and I yesterday. He felt—and we agreed—that it would be best for us to attend the Empire Day ball hidden among his concubines."

Vader stood there silently. Leia could feel the shock and anger beginning to pour off him. She continued. "Not only will those who may have reason to harm us not think to look for us there, but people tend to say things around the concubines that they would not say around the Emperor's Hand or Vader's daughter. The youngest concubine, Roganda Ismaren, is only a year or two older than us. We'll fit right in."

"No daughter of mine will be mistaken for a concubine." Vader's statement was a low growl.

Leia shook her head. "You'd rather I dressed in one of those wretched outfits reserved for dancing slave girls? Honestly, Father, I agree that this would be the best choice."

"You are fifteen years old. You don't know what the best choice is."

"May I remind you that Mother ruled a planet at that age?" She felt bad for bringing her up, but her point was valid. "It was the Emperor's suggestion and I see the wisdom in it. Take it up with him if you like."

Vader shook his head as he conceded. "You are too much like your mother. I could never win arguments with her, either." He looked up. "Very well. I trust you are armed?"

"As much as can be expected in this horrible thing. And if all else fails, I can kill a man twenty different ways unarmed."

Vader nodded. "Remember to keep your feelings stretched out. Not all threats will be visible with your eyes alone."

Leia nodded grimly. "I will, Father. I will not let you down—you or Emperor Palpatine."

Leia bowed her head formally to her father, turned, and exited the room. She walked confidently to one of the landing pads, the guards letting her through and allowing the vehicle of an Imperial officer to land as she arrived. Captain Peralt, a Coruscanti human male thirteen years older than her, had been hand-picked by the Emperor to be her escort to the Imperial Palace. He made simple small talk with her as his chauffer flew, believing her to be a simple concubine. _Good,_ Leia thought, _now to keep up this pretense for the rest of the evening._

The Grand Ballroom had been lavishly decorated in rich shades of violet and gold, with delicacies from a hundred worlds and tasteful music in the background. The ballroom was packed with more people than Leia had ever seen at one of these functions. Then again, she could count the number of Empire Day galas she had attended on one hand. It was more of a somber day of remembrance for she and her father, as that was the day that he was left for dead by his former friend and presumably the day that Padmé had died. It was speculation, obviously, but her father was certain of it. According to him, the last time he had seen her mother, she had been unconscious, pregnant with Leia and her brother, and looked to be at death's door. Palpatine himself had confirmed her death when Vader had regained his wits days later.

Leia turned her attention back to the task at hand: appearing to be witless window-dressing. She caught Mara's eye across the room. Her friend was laughing with a group of dignitaries, though the fleeting impression she gave Leia through the Force was of irritation. Leia flashed a brief grin and reminded herself that she was doing was for the good of the Empire. _Stormtroopers may complain about their armor, but none of them ever had to wear these ridiculous shoes._

She turned her attention back to the group of Imperial officers she was currently chatting with, nodded to excuse herself, and drifted to a group of senators and sector governers.

"It must be awful dealing with those hairy savages," one senator's wife was saying. "They seem nothing more than petulant savages, and here we are trying to do what's best for them by feeding and housing them in exchange for work." The woman speaking, a well-fed looking matron stuffed in an expensive silk gown, looked as if the most work she had ever done in her life was yell at her servants.

"It is a tiresome job," responded the Kashyyyk governor, an older man with a Coruscanti accent. "They just refuse to recognize their betters. Not one week ago, a few of them shot at my personal transport with those primitive bowcasters of theirs. Naturally, examples were made, but it hasn't stopped them." He leaned in conspiratorially. "Given the circumstances, I consider myself well within my rights to a little profit from the work programs."

The dignitaries laughed, Leia among them, though she was filing away the information for later use. _Governer Magion may not be giving the Empire the full amounts from Wookiee slave sales… have independent auditors sent in to keep him on his toes._ She moved on to the next cluster of senators, among them the new representative of Alderaan. No one had managed to keep that office for very long after her erstwhile stepfather's death. This new one, Adiana Cephi, had only been in office for a year.

Leia kept a careful but unobtrusive watch on Cephi, noting that she rarely spoke up in the group, even to joke. She was guarded, whether because she had Rebel sympathies or simply because she did not want to end up like her predecessors Leia couldn't tell.

The evening wore on, and finally the Emperor made his appearance. _Good,_ thought Leia, _I can leave soon._ The concubines rarely stayed past the Emperor's departure. Even if he did not use them, appearances needed to be kept. She made her way to be with the rest of the concubines, towards the front and side of the ballroom. Thunderous applause greeted Palpatine. No one showed less than full enthusiasm, whether real or feigned, as Leia was sure there were more than a few Rebel sympathizers in the room. "My friends," he began, his croaking voice amplified, "This is a glorious day for the Galactic Empire! Fifteen years of peace and stability!"

And then the world exploded.

Leia felt a twinge of danger a half-instant before the bomb went off and managed to reach to her father in the Force before leaping out of the way and nearly missing the full blast. Her ears were ringing, her wig was askew, and one of her shoes had been knocked off. She glanced over at the Emperor, who had been pulled back by his Crimson Guards. Mara was running towards him. She had been safe from the blast, it seemed. _We're both fortunate,_ Leia thought for a moment. The Emperor's concubines were screaming. Several were not in one piece, and there were at least four dead. The gathered dignitaries were panicking, and the military men in attendance were trying their best to control the situation.

Leia kicked off her other shoe and sprinted towards the Emperor. His yellow eyes widened as he noticed her. "Are you all right?" she asked him breathlessly.

"I am unharmed," he replied. She barely heard him, but felt the anger pouring off him.

Leia turned to Mara. "Mara, quickly. The assassins may still be here." Mara nodded and the two young women split up, working their way among the crowd, their Force-awareness stretched to its maximum. In the end, they couldn't feel anything suspicious.

* * *

Leia sat, exhausted, as her father and his personal guard arrived. She could feel his anger, shock, and fear from a kilometer away. She smiled at him, trying to show that she was fine, despite her appearances. She was barefoot and had abandoned the ridiculous wig, her expensive dress was torn, burned, and bloodstained, and she was soot-stained and bloody as well. At least her hearing had nearly returned to normal.

She wanted to run up and hug her father, but knew that appearances must be kept. It wouldn't do for an underling to see the Dark Lord of the Sith hugging, even if it was his daughter. Still, she reached out to him and gave his presence the mental equivalent of a reassuring squeeze. _Of all the days for his only daughter to nearly get killed, it has to be the anniversary of his wife's death._

They were silent on the ride back to his palace. Once home, however, their barriers dropped. "I'm sorry, Father."

"It was not your fault." His voice was heavy. She hated to think how he must have felt, and still be feeling.

"I'm sorry I couldn't find the assassin. I failed in my duty."

"You are still alive. That is more important to me than duty, my daughter."

The dam broke. Leia, who hadn't cried since she was four years old and her father had saved her from being shot, began to cry silent tears. She hugged her father, taking comfort in his mostly-mechanical presence. Despite all that he was, and all that he wasn't, he was still her father and she wanted nothing more than to make him proud and happy. "We will find the assassins together, Leia. We will make them regret their treason and wish they had never crossed us."

Leia smiled.


	6. Chapter 6

_Author's Note: Again, sorry for the long wait. A word of advice: NEVER take an 18 hour semester, especially when 12 hours are very hard science courses and the other six are time-intensive. Thankfully, I'm now down to 15 hours, which is still tough but manageable. Anyway, also sorry if this chapter is short or abrupt, as I was agonizing over the end, decided everything I wrote sucked, and I decided to work with what I had that was good. So things are calmer, I'm trying to keep on a steady schedule, and hopefully I'll have the next update before Thanksgiving. Thanks to the readers, and as always, reviews and concrit are welcome. I'd like to do the best work possible and I'll never improve if bad habits aren't pointed out and broken :-P Once again, I don't own Star Wars, though I'll be getting Ep. 3 on DVD this week (squee!)_

Ch. 6

"Father!"

Vader turned from the carnage in front of him. His daughter's voice sounded urgent, and her approaching presence felt somewhat tumultuous. He deactivated his lightsaber but kept it in hand and walked towards the room's entrance.

Leia was nearly running down the lavish hallway of Black Sun's Coruscant headquarters, dragging a well-dressed Twi'lek male behind her. The Twi'lek looked terrified, with good reason. Vader and Leia had slaughtered all of his colleagues in revenge for the assassination attempt six months prior.

Leia, looking disheveled and deadly, threw the Twi'lek at Vader's feet. "Tell him what you told me." Her voice was icy, and the Twi'lek winced and attempted to compose himself.

"I know where your son is," said the Twi'lek. "I know where he lives, I know what his name is, and if you let me live I will tell you."

Vader's anger at the gall of the Twi'lek overwhelmed the surge of hope at hearing that he was within reach of his son. He had been searching for his son for far too long to be thwarted and bribed by this worm. _Not only did they try to take my daughter from me,_ he thought, _this Black Sun scum is trying to keep my son from me as well._ Vader resisted the urge to kill the Twi'lek outright. Instead, he used the Force to rip his way into the Twi'lek's mind, searching for the information he wanted.

The Twi'lek screamed and clutched at his head, his snakelike lekku writhing in pain. Behind him, Leia stood with her arms crossed and a satisfied smirk on her face. Vader mentally pushed his way through the Twi'lek's brain until he found the information he sought. "Tattooine," he said, opening his eyes inside his mask. He gave Leia a brief nod. Before the Twi'lek could scream, Leia had ignited her lightsaber and brought her ruby blade in a sweeping arc through his neck.

Vader and Leia made their way to the turbolift, ignoring the scenes of bloodshed that they had caused. Once inside, Leia allowed herself a tight smile. "Two hawk-bats with one stone," she remarked. "We rid the empire of a nest of traitors and finally learn the location of my missing brother. I gather we'll be leaving shortly?"

"As soon as I inform the Emperor. Unless he has plans for either of us."

"Of course." They fell silent, though Leia was still radiating excitement. _Of course she's happy, she's been wanting to find her brother since she was four years old_. Vader's satisfaction was tempered by the mention of Tattooine. That wretched planet again… he had planned to never return after his mother's murder, but how could he leave his son there?

Once back in his palace, he arranged a meeting with Palpatine. In the meantime, he contacted his personal intelligence agents to find all they could on "Luke Skywalker." It was a matter of minutes before they sent him all he needed to know, every record or document they could find on him and his legal guardians.

Vader was a bit surprised at the simplicity of it all. "Skywalker" wasn't exactly a common name, and the boy was living with his stepbrother. He cursed himself for a fool, and cursed Obi-Wan as well. Vader vaguely remembered Owen Lars, but he would never forget the location of that moisture farm. He had buried his mother there.

* * *

The Emperor had been interested to hear that Vader's son had been located, but was somewhat irked that he had been so plainly hidden. "All this time and you never thought to search for the name Skywalker?" he had asked.

The derisive tone grated on Vader's already short nerves. He had considered explaining how other than school records and a forged birth record, Luke had shown up nearly nowhere else, but had decided that crossing Palpatine over something trivial was a very undesirable thing at the moment. "We overestimated Kenobi after the subterfuge with Leia and Organa," he settled for saying.

The Emperor cackled. _At least he's in a good humor today,_ Vader thought darkly. "You may go retrieve your son and eliminate Kenobi if you find him. However, I have need for your daughter to remain here and assist Mara Jade in an investigation of a troublesome Senator or two."

Vader bowed. It was better than nothing. Leia knew her duty.

She hadn't been happy about it, though.

"Imperial Intelligence could handle an investigation just as well as Mara or me. I don't see why he's assigning us both to the task." Despite himself, Vader half-smiled at her reaction. She was so much like he had been at that age, always wanting tasks she considered worthy and challenging to her. Or like Padmé, who had hated being put to frivolous work.

"I am sure he has his reasons. I do not foresee a long trip. I will return with your brother and Kenobi's head on a pike before the week's end."

"I know." Leia crossed her arms and sighed. "I just wish I could go. I want to rescue my brother and I want to help you with Kenobi. He killed my mother and stole me from you."

"We do not know for sure that Kenobi is even there."

"Well, where else is he going to be? I know it's a big galaxy, but from what I've heard I doubt the interfering old man would just leave us alone."

"You are not saying anything that I have not already thought of." Vader crossed the room and gave his daughter a quick hug. He had been weaning her off of childish comforts for some time now, but he could understand her frustration. Leia relaxed a bit.

"I am sorry for my behavior," she said, composing herself. "I'll do my duty and await your return."

Vader was proud of her daughter's restraint and focus. She was a fine young woman who had developed strength and character under his direction. He wondered how Luke had fared without him. He wouldn't have long to wait to find out, as the _Executor_ was currently settling into orbit around Tattooine.

* * *

Vader curled his lip in disgust once his shuttle touched down outside the Lars's moisture farm. The planet was as bleak and dry as he remembered. Though his armor kept him at a steady temperature, the suit's sensors told him that it was just as hot as he remembered as well.

"My lord!" called a voice. A stormtrooper officer jogged up to him and saluted. "We have neutralized the owners of the farm, but there's a problem."

"Explain," Vader growled.

"We cannot locate the target, and what appears to be a Jedi arrived just before you did. He's taken out the troops we initially sent in."

_Kenobi._ "I will deal with this. Continue searching for the boy."

"Yes, m'lord." The officer saluted and signaled to a few of his troops. Vader drew his lightsaber and stretched out in the Force. Sure enough, there was Kenobi, the same old arrogant Jedi. Vader gave a feral grin and strode into the homestead.

Kenobi was in the courtyard, surrounded by four dead stormtroopers. He was crouched over the bodies of a man and a woman that Vader assumed to be Owen and Beru Lars. "Vader."

"Kenobi."

Kenobi stood and turned to face Vader. The years hadn't been kind to him. He looked worn and tired. "You've come for Luke."

"And your head."

Kenobi smiled sadly. "You won't be getting it."

"Overconfident old man." Vader ignited his lightsaber and swung at his former Master. The old man ignited his own blue blade and parried deceptively fast for someone of his appearance. They fought hard for a few minutes, then broke and drew back. Neither of them was as young as they used to be. They circled each other warily. Vader thought back to that final duel at Mustafar, and how he had brashly underestimated his former friend. _That will not happen again,_ he vowed. This time, there was more than just his pride at sake. He had a son and daughter that he did not want to fail. Without warning, he Force-pushed Obi-Wan. The old man was not caught unawares, and managed to avoid the concussive wave. However, Vader used the moment to lunge out and renew the fight.

_He's holding back,_ Vader realized a few seconds later. It had been nearly twenty years, but he had sparred against Kenobi enough to know his fighting style. The difference wasn't age, it was intent. "Fight back, damn you!" he said in frustration. Kenobi pushed Vader back a few stumbling steps, then turned off his lightsaber and threw it away.

"Strike me down. Strike down your old friend. I'm an unarmed old man. Is that what your friend the Emperor has reduced you to?"

"You old fool," Vader growled. "You may have been able to keep me from my wife, but you will not be able to keep me from my son!" Vader whirled around suddenly, aiming for Kenobi's neck with his blade. Kenobi dodged to the side, but Vader brought his lightsaber around and impaled his former Master and friend in the chest. Obi-Wan gave a muffled cry of pain, but no more. He sank to the sand. Vader stood over him, feeling Obi-Wan's life ebb and fade in the Force.

Kenobi smiled infuriatingly. Then, in a voice so soft that Vader could barely hear it, he said, "Perhaps. But now he knows what kind of monster the man who murdered his mother is, and what he is capable of." The old man closed his eyes. Amazingly, his body was suddenly gone. Vader was able to keep himself from jumping back in alarm, but only barely. He deactivated his lightsaber and prodded the empty robes with his boot. _I should have known the disagreeable old man would have a trick left up his sleeve._

"Lord Vader?"

"Yes?" Vader turned towards the stormtrooper's voice. Two stormtroopers were holding a blond teenaged boy by the arms. He was looking at the old man's robes with an expression of anguish. Vader once again cursed Obi-Wan. _And now he has poisoned my son against me._

"We found the boy, though he managed to take out one of my men before we could stun him." The stormtrooper who spoke handed Vader a lightsaber. "He was a kilometer east of here."

"Make sure he is secure, then bring him to my shuttle. We have much to discuss."

"Yes sir."


	7. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars or any of the movie/book characters. I'm not getting money from this, nor do I intend to. Thanks again to my readers for their patience. The story's flowing again so I'll try and write as much as I can before finals, though I'm not sure how much that will be. As always, concrit is welcomed._

Ch. 7

Leia stifled a yawn as she and Mara pored through yet another set of files. They had been doing far less actual surveillance of the Kuati senator than they had initially thought. So far it seemed that the most she was guilty of was a good deal of bribes, none of which were particularly worse than those of most politicians. There had initially been a hint that she may have been interfering with some missing shipments from Kuat's Drive Yards, but that turned out to be merely the fault of shoddy paperwork.

"So when's your father going to be back?"

"He's been on-planet for the past six hours. I'll be going back to see him after I'm done with this file." She gave a frustrated sigh. _We're trained by the best in the Empire and we serve the Sith lords who defeated the Jedi and regained their rightful place of power. And yet we're sitting here like a pair of common clerks._ Leia looked up and saw Mara giving her a guarded look. She offered her friend a tight smile. "I'm sure that Emperor Palpatine, in his wisdom, has his reasons for having us look through these personally."

Mara grunted noncommittally. Leia knew that her friend would never say anything critical of the Emperor. In fact, if Palpatine asked, Mara would inform him of any possibly seditious things that Leia had ever said about him in a heartbeat. However, Leia was frustrated. Palpatine _had_ to have known that she had wanted more than anything to go with her father to recover her brother. She knew that she was being denied this in order to teach her obedience to her true master. She was also sure that he was just doing it out of spite. While Leia tried to keep it from showing, her loyalty was first and foremost to her father.

Leia finished sifting through the file and turned off her datapad with a bit more enthusiasm than was needed. "Now to meet this brother of mine."

Mara nodded. "I'll see you later."

Leia piloted her speeder back to her father's palace, her mind buzzing. _What will he be like? He's been twisted by that wretched Jedi, I'll wager… now that he's with us, he'll see the truth of things._ She frowned as she parked her vehicle. _Won't he?_

"Father!" She rushed into his room, relieved to see him back unharmed. He turned away from his window, and she realized that her excitement had blinded her to the anxiety and anger rolling off of him. She faltered. "What is it? You brought him back, didn't you?"

"Yes. He's confined to a cell in the east corridor."

Leia hadn't figured that her brother would be given free rein straightaway, but if he was confined to a cell, things were a bit different than she had hoped. She waited to hear more.

Vader's breathing echoed in the room for a short while. "Kenobi has once again stolen my son from me. I defeated him, but his death twisted the boy against me further. He has been corrupted by the faulty view of the Jedi already, perhaps irreparably."

"We can show him the truth, Father, I know we can! Surely he'll see through those lies."

"The hooks of the Jedi are deeply set in him, Leia."

"If he doesn't turn, Palpatine will kill him."

"You say nothing that I do not already know."

"May I see him?"

Leia listened to her father's breathing as he contemplated. "You may, but you will not be unattended."

"Father, I'm more than qualified to deal with a half-trained Jedi—"  
"You are not. You have never faced a Jedi and you do not know their tricks. I will send two of my Noghri to accompany you."

Leia remained silent. She was uncomfortable around her father's new pets. They moved silently and inhumanly, and they had the annoying habit of referring to her as "Lady Vader."

"I do this for your own good, Leia."  
"I know, Father. If you'll excuse me, I'll be on my way." She bowed and left the room, heading for the east corridor's cells. Somewhere along the way, she was intercepted by the two Noghri, who fell in step behind her like shadows. She took a deep breath to focus herself as she approached the cell block. The biometric security system beeped as she was allowed access. Inside was a hallway of fairly small cells, each one ray-shielded so that whoever was walking by could have an unobstructed view of the inhabitant. The sole occupant of the entire block was at the end of the hallway.

He was sitting on the cell's bed with his back to the wall and his eyes closed. _I thought we were supposed to be twins. He looks nothing like me._ "You are Luke Skywalker, I presume," she said, trying to keep her voice level and authoritative.

Luke opened his eyes, looked at her, then closed them again. "You must be Leia."

Leia allowed her eyes to narrow slightly. "You would be correct."

"So would you."

"Enough banter."

He opened his eyes again and fixed her with a disdaining look. "My life is _gone_. My aunt and uncle were murdered for not giving me up. My mentor was murdered in front of me by the thing that I've been hiding from since I found out what he was. I've been stolen from my home and placed in a prison because the Empire fears Jedi. I'm in no mood for joking."

Leia blinked, a little surprised by his outburst. "That _thing_ is your father."

"I had a father. His name was Owen Lars. He was the one who raised me and protected me. Anakin Skywalker was my biological father. He's dead and Darth Vader is using his corpse."

"Shut up. You don't know what you're talking about."

He gave a dark laugh. "And you do?"

She opened her mouth, ready to say that yes, she _did_ know, but then shut it again, irritated at herself for letting him start to get the upper hand on her. She decided to change the subject. "You've been manipulated by Kenobi. I'm sure that your guardians wanted the best for you, but you _were_ taken to them after being kidnapped. They were probably as much pawns as you are."

This provoked a reaction in him, shaking him from his damnably calm demeanor. "Shut up! You don't know what you're talking about. You don't know anything about me or my family or what we've been through."

"And I could say the same thing about me."

Luke regained his composure and sat back down. "I guess you could."

Leia motioned to one of the Noghri. He left briefly and returned with a chair. "Well," said Leia, sitting down, "we both seem to suffer from a lack of information about each other. Perhaps we should rectify that. It could clear up a few misconceptions."

Luke nodded reluctantly. "I guess it could."

Leia waited patiently for Luke to ask the first question. It wouldn't do for her to seem to eager to know about her long-lost brother and what had made him believe so many lies. She didn't have to wait long.

"Why are you so loyal to him?"

"To our father, I assume?"

Luke nodded.

"He's my father. He's my only family after the Jedi stole me and killed my—our—mother."

"What?" Luke sounded outraged. "_That's_ what they've been telling you?"

"Yes. Mother was misled by Kenobi into betraying him, and after he left Father to die, he took her and killed her to leave no loose ends." She noted the look of impending anger on his face and gave a sardonic smile. "Which version did they tell you?"

"Vader was responsible for our mother's death. Not Ben."

Leia gave a harsh laugh. "That makes no sense. He loved her. He still loves her."

"Sometimes people do horrible things out of love," he said softly. "She was horrified to hear that her husband had supposedly slaughtered children in the Jedi Temple. Vader was already paranoid, and when he saw Ben, he jumped to conclusions. He Force-choked his pregnant wife and was responsible for her death during our birth."

"That's a filthy lie."

"Ask him. Look him in the eyes and tell him what I've said."

Leia's patience was wearing thin. "I can't look my father in the eyes, because your beloved Kenobi left him mutilated and burned and confined to that kriffing armor," she snapped.

"He regretted that."

"I'm sure he did. Just another loose end defaming the wonderful name of the Jedi."

"It wasn't like that. They were friends once, didn't he tell you that?"  
"Of course he did. He trusted his 'friend' and tried to save him from ignorance. And this wonderful friend, the man he trusted and loved like a brother, proved no different from the rest of the Jedi."

Luke looked at her sadly. "You really believe that, don't you?"

"I believe it because it's the _truth_." She stood and resisted the urge to kick the chair into the back wall. "I'm done here."

"You didn't ask me anything," Luke called as she started walking away.

Leia paused. "How can you be so poisoned against your own blood?"

Before he could answer, she began walking again. As she reached the door, she heard him speak softly. She used the Force to enhance her hearing as she keyed it shut.

"Ben, help me keep my resolve."

* * *

Leia sat at her father's desk, looking out the window at another of Coruscant's frequent rainstorms. She felt his presence approach before she heard his footsteps and respirator. She didn't turn.

"Is something wrong, Leia?"

"He's not at all what I was expecting." Vader said nothing, so she continued. "I'm scared for him. I was hoping that he'd listen to reason, and instead he does nothing but spout the lies that he's been told. It was a mistake to let your guard kill his guardians. I'm not sure he'll ever forgive you that."

"If it helps him to see the truth of the Dark Side, I am willing to live with that."

"He's willfully ignorant. He was saying the most absurd things about you."

"Such as?"

Leia debated telling her father, then decided it was better that he hear it from her than from Luke. "He believes some story that Kenobi told him about Mother's death and how you killed her."

Her father was silent, but there was a rather surprising stab of pain and guilt in the Force for a split second. The pain, she could understand, but… guilt? "Are you all right, Father?"

"Yes. I should not have been surprised to hear that."

"I'm going to question him further after some meditation. I'll make him face the truth, even if it kills him."

"I'd rather it did not, Leia."

"It was a figure of speech."

"It would not be if the Emperor decided to put himself in charge of his training."

Leia pondered that. "No, it wouldn't be. I don't suppose pointing that out to him would help us."

"It would not. Death is of no concern to fanatics."

Leia rubbed her temples. "I'm so frustrated, Father. This isn't at all like I'd been hoping."

"I know."

She stood. "I need some sleep. Emperor Palpatine wants Mara and I to return to our filing duties early tomorrow, and I'd like another try at talking to Luke."

Vader nodded. They bid each other a good night, though Leia was sure that both of their sleep would be troubled. As she left, she reached out tentatively in the Force to feel her father's presence again, only to find that same trace of guilt. _My father has never shown regret for anything he's done. What is he guilty about?_ She thought once again of Luke's words about her mother's death and found herself wanting reassurance from her father that it was just a lie.

She cursed the Jedi once more, this time for planting their seeds of deception in her mind.


	8. Chapter 8

_Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars or any of the movie/book characters. I'm not getting money from this, nor do I intend to. Sorry for the long delay! Hope this makes up for it._

Ch. 8

Over the course of the next week, Leia visited Luke every evening. She was rarely there for longer than an hour. _For someone trained to interrogate even the most reluctant Rebel,_ Vader thought, _she doesn't seem to have the patience for this. Then again, one does not usually try to change a Rebel's beliefs._

"I don't think I've gotten any further in reaching him at all this week," Leia confided one afternoon. "I've tried a logical view. He has an answer for every flaw I point out, usually 'That was a flaw of the old Jedi Order.' I tried appealing to his sense of family. He's still upset about that aunt and uncle of his, by the way."

"That is the main reason I have not been to see him."

"I don't know if that's a good idea or not. Seeing you might provoke him to draw on his sense of wrath."

"Perhaps. Or it could lock him into a fanatical mindset. Fanatics cannot be reasoned with."

Leia toyed with a stylus from Vader's desk. "You're going to have to see him at some point. I think he wants to see you. You _are_ his father, after all."

* * *

Vader lingered in the hallway outside of the detention cells for a bit longer than he meant to. He had assured his guards that he was more than capable of handling a half-trained Jedi, so he had been able to come alone. He should have been able to just stride right in and see the boy, but... well, he felt somehow anxious and awkward. He didn't like the thought of his own son hating him. _I have no regrets about his relatives. I had to do that. They disobeyed Imperial law, and they aided Kenobi in stealing my son from me._ Even so, things may have gone much easier if Owen and Beru had just handed Luke over willingly. _It is the past and nothing can be done to change it._ Vader steeled himself and entered the cells.

Luke was sitting on his cot, picking at the food that had been brought in for his afternoon meal. He didn't look up as Vader approached. "I trust my guards have been treating you well."

"You didn't come here to discuss my health, Father."

"No, I did not. However, I would like to know that those in my employ are worthy of remaining under my command."

"They've been okay."

Vader paused awkwardly and cursed to himself. He was a Dark Lord of the Sith, and he was never _awkward_ anymore. "You have not been cooperating with Leia."

Luke finally looked up. "I've been cooperating just fine. She just doesn't like what I have to say."

"You've been lying—"

"So you didn't choke and murder my mother? You didn't betray the trust of the entire Jedi Order and murder their children?" The flash of anger was gone as quickly as it had arisen. "The least you can do is be honest with yourself."

For a moment, Vader wished that Palpatine were there instead of him. The Emperor excelled in nudging the tiniest bit of anger or despair into a smoldering rage, a talent that was beyond Vader's ability. "Do you believe everything Obi-Wan told you?"

"Not everything. He says there's no good left in you."

"He would be correct."

"No, he wouldn't be." Luke closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall. "You care about Leia. I've heard her talk about you and she loves you unconditionally. If you were wholly dark, you would be incapable of love."

"Do you always speak of things you know nothing about?" Vader's temper was beginning to wear thin with the boy.

"I know what makes sense and what doesn't. I've had plenty of time to think on this ever since Ben told me the truth about you. And the fact that what I'm saying makes you defensive tells me even more."

Vader glowered at Luke under his mask, and finally snapped. Before he even realized what he was doing, Luke was dangling in midair gasping for breath as Vader Force-choked him. In shock, Vader dropped him. Luke collected himself on the floor, rubbing his throat. "Old habits die hard," he croaked out, smiling wryly up at Vader.

"You will not be so flippant once you meet the Emperor," Vader snapped in reply, stalking towards the door of the detention hallway. Before he could lose his nerve, he made his way to his comm chamber and opened a channel, kneeling. Palpatine's hologram sprang to life.

"Yes, Lord Vader?"

"The boy will meet with you at your earliest convenience."

The old man cackled maliciously. "You have had no luck turning him, then?"

"He is most obstinate," Vader ground out.

"Excellent. The stubborn, prideful ones are the most fun to break. Bring him in an hour."

"Yes, my master."

* * *

Vader, Leia, and Luke entered a chamber in the Emperor's palace. The room was a high-ceilinged, windowless, bare room, adorned only by a high-backed throne at the far end from the door. Columns supported pointed arches on the ceiling, giving the room a sinister look. Currently, Palpatine was occupying the throne. Mara Jade was standing unobtrusively beside the throne, acting as Palpatine's guard since the ubiquitous Crimson Guards were not allowed inside this room. The sight of her jabbed at Vader, since her presence implied that Palpatine did not trust Leia or himself enough to guard him against one paltry half-trained boy.

"So here at last is Lord Vader's wayward Jedi son," said Palpatine as they drew nearer. "Your father searched so diligently for you, only to find that you've been brought up in ignorance and half-truths." Palpatine shook his head in a parody of dispproval. "What a disappointment you've been since you've arrived."

Vader bristled but gave no outward sign of it. Beside him, he could feel Leia's hot anger but knew that she was well-trained enough to keep her face impassive.

"If sticking to my truths and beliefs causes me to be a disappointment, I guess that's just something I'm going to have to live with," Luke replied.

The emperor's indulgent smile was replaced with one that looked remarkably feral. "You are mistaken, young Jedi."

"About which part?" Vader winced involuntarily. Luke's careless behavior was going to be a cause for regret very shortly. _He's intelligent, he has to know this. So why is he doing it?_

"That all depends on you. You will either come around to the truth of the Sith or be destroyed." Palpatine gave a careless wave of his hand. "It makes no difference to me what you chose, since your father and sister are already my creatures. What is one less follower to me?"

Luke visibly steeled himself. "I believe you already know my choice, Your Highness."

Palpatine nodded. "So be it."  
Before Vader could protest, lightning was erupting from Palpatine's fingertips and electrocuting Luke, who screamed wordlessly.

Without thinking, Vader jumped in front of Luke, blocking the volley of Force-lightening with his lightsaber. He heard Leia gasp. "He can be turned!" he shouted at Palpatine. "I know he can be—"

He twisted to the side right before Jade's lightsaber would have sliced through his torso. He prepared to guard for another attack from the younger, faster fighter but Leia was in front of him, her own crimson blade lit.

"Leave my father alone," she snarled at her oldest friend.

Mara's face was cold, but her voice was very nearly regretful. "I always knew it would come to this one day."

"It won't if you _stay away,_" Leia insisted.

In response, Jade charged. Leia vaulted into the air. Vader turned away, though he could hear their blades crash near him.

Palpatine was standing now. He looked highly displeased. "You have two children, Lord Vader. Losing one that you barely know and who clearly wants to die should not be a concern to you."

"He is my _son_," Vader insisted.

The displeasure turned to contempt. "You are a sentimental fool."

"And you're a heartless bastard."

"The Sith need no heart! It is a weakness! It is what cost you your arms and legs!"

"_Kenobi_ did that!"

"No. It was your sense of betrayal towards your idiot wife that caused you to fight him when you were at a disadvantage. Your precious _heart_ was what caused you years of inattention in looking for that pathetic brat at your feet. Your insipid love of your traitor daughter made you weak! You wasted time hunting down supposed assassins—"

"Supposed?" Vader felt dangerously on edge. He had taken verbal abuse from his mentor before, but this was... different.

"She was an annoyance who needed to be eliminated, but she survived. She was useful enough, and resourceful enough to avoid the second attempt, for all the good that did." Palpatine turned a disdainful eye over to where Mara and Leia were battling.

"You..."

"Yes, Lord Vader. I tried to bring you back to the true path of the Sith, and this is how you repay me?"

The revelation behind the assassination attempts was the last straw. Vader roared and swung his lightsaber back, ready to take Palpatine's treacherous head off.

He didn't expect the Force-lighting, though he realized that he should have.

Palpatine had blasted him with it before, as punishment. It was painful, but it shorted out the delicate equipment of his suit. The backup life support systems would only last so long, and equipment that allowed his arms and legs to move was now completely shot. He heard Leia scream, first for him and then in pain and shock. Jade had taken advantage of her distraction and sheared her sword arm off at the elbow. _I've failed._

And then Luke was in front of him, burned and wielding the lightsaber that Vader had dropped, holding it outstretched in one hand.

"Leave my father alone."

Mara appeared in Vader's field of vision, having abandoned Leia for the more immediate threat to Palpatine. Luke didn't spare her a glance as he Force-pushed her into a wall, knocking her unconscious.

"I will kill you, boy" hissed Palpatine.

"Not today," Luke said, sounding pained. With another burst of effort he reached up with his free hand and pulled at the keystone of the arch above his head. Without it, the arch began to crumble. Palpatine dove out of the way of the falling keystone. Luke took advantage of the distraction to grab Vader and drag him over to a wall. "Leia!"

Leia stumbled over in a daze, clutching the stump of her arm. "What have you done?"

"Bought us some time, I hope. We need to get out of here."

"Can't... don't know how—"  
"There's a hanger nearby," Vader managed to gasp.

"Good." He took Leia's remaining hand and put the lightsaber into it. "Can you keep the guards off our backs while I try and get us out of here?"

Leia stared open-mouthed at him. "This room's walls are laced with cortosis—"

"I figured. I want to try something else. Just keep on guard."

Vader could tell that Luke was doing something in the Force, though he couldn't tell what. His viewscreen started to short out, though what he saw of the displays regarding the backup life support didn't look good at all.

Suddenly, he heard an explosion and was pelted in rubble. He felt Luke grab him and pull him to a sudden hole in the wall. "Help me!" Luke called. "We need to get him in!" He felt Leia try to grab his ankles.

"I can't," she sobbed.

"Use the Force!"

Vader felt himself lifted up and settled down in the back of a... speeder? Before he could question this, Leia's face appeared in his view. She looked very pale, drenched with sweat, and terrified. "Father, we're going to get you to help."

Before he could reply, he passed out.


	9. Chapter 9

_Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars or any of the movie/book characters. I'm not getting money from this, nor do I intend to._

Ch. 9

Leia crouched in the small, cramped smuggler's compartment, flexing and extending her temporary prosthetic arm and tamping down on her Force-presence. Luke was in the compartment next to her, and their father was in a stasis container in a third compartment. She felt naked without her lightsaber, but in their rush to escape she hadn't been able to pick it up.

Instead, the smuggler they had contacted had provided her with a blaster in case they were boarded. He had been reluctant, but she had... insisted.

She waited for what felt like hours until she felt the shudder of the freighter making the jump to lightspeed. She heard and felt the footsteps of someone—a quick Force-probe confirmed it was the smuggler—approaching. She pushed open the cover and sighed with relief. "I never thought I'd be smuggling myself in one of these."

"Never thought I'd be smuggling the Emperor's henchman and kids."

"The universe works in mysterious ways," muttered Luke, also popping out of the hatch. He winced. He was still covered in bacta-soaked bandages. After their escape, they had only had enough time to make it to a lower-level medical chop-shop and bribe the owner to give them a stasis container and Leia a prosthetic arm. Luke had insisted that he would be fine.

"It sure does," Leia murmured.

"Now that we're out of trouble for a while, care to let me know what happened?"

"Lieutenant Solo—"

"Not a lieutenant anymore, sweetheart."

She glared. "Don't call me that. All you need to know is—"

"I think I deserve to know what I'm risking my neck, my copilot's neck, and my ship for."

"Other than my father's money?" Leia was getting angrier now, a hairsbreadth from Force-choking Solo. At Luke's urging, she had withdrawn as much money as she dared from one of Vader's accounts before it could be frozen. A good portion of that was going to the smuggler, with a portion set aside for a good medic.

Luke shrugged, wincing again. "Sounds fair to me." Leia shot a glare at him. When she refused to say anything else, Luke began to speak. "I don't know how much you know about the Force. There's a light side, and a dark side, and the Emperor's very much on the Dark Side."

"I don't doubt it," Solo said, shuddering with some memory of his time on Coruscant.

"The old Jedi served the light. Anakin Skywalker was a good Jedi, a good _man_, until he let his pride get the better of him. He found Leia and raised her, and I was hidden with my aunt, uncle, and Anakin Skywalker's former mentor. I made it my mission to try and bring my father and sister back to the light, and I think I might have succeeded with my father, at least." Leia refused to look at either of them. She stood up and glared down at the panel that her father was under.

"But it made you some enemies."

"Palpatine's already my enemy," said Luke, laughing humorlessly. "He's just widened his view to the rest of my family."

"This never would have happened if you had just listened to us," said Leia. Solo, probably deciding that he had heard all he needed to hear, slowly backed out of the hallway and headed back towards the cockpit.

Luke closed his eyes briefly. "If there was any other way—"

"You'd what? All you've managed to do is destroy everything. We had safety, and power, and a place in the universe, and you came along and destroyed everything!"

"At what cost did you have that, Leia?" he asked, sounding tired. "You and our father were serving the person who was responsible for the downfall of thousands of generations of order and peace—not just the Jedi, but the Republic. At the very least, he manipulated our father into betraying everything he ever loved and valued."

"He never betrayed _me_!"

"He robbed you—us—of a mother."

"Not this again!" She stormed towards the main hold. Luke followed her.

"I may not be able to convince you, but once Father's okay—"

Leia whirled around, eyes blazing, and grabbed the collar of his shirt. "_You_ don't get to call him that."

Luke continued to gaze placidly at her, refusing to be intimidated. "When we get to Corellia, ask him. He might be willing to tell you the truth this time."

* * *

Leia had spent the rest of the trip brooding in the hold. Lieutenant—_Captain_ Solo had tried to strike up a conversation catching up since the last time they'd seen each other, but she hadn't felt like talking. Instead, Luke, Solo, and Solo's Wookiee copilot had been talking quietly about what to do when they landed and afterwards. The plan at the moment was to find a medic who could be bribed into keeping quiet, and then... Luke had decided that there was someone who could help them on some backwater planet called Dagobah. Solo wasn't happy about it, but the Wookiee insisted rather loudly that they follow Luke's plan.

Luke, Leia, and Solo had decided on Corellia as the best place to be for a number of factors, namely that it was an urban planet with little care for whoever was currently in power as long as they were left alone. Leia had admitted that Senator Bel Iblis was certainly no fan of Palpatine's, which echoed a decent percentage of the population. It was far enough from the Core to be a good temporary hiding place, and was close enough to have sufficient medical facilities. Solo being a Corellian was an added bonus.

Luke and Leia returned to the hidden compartments shortly before they left hyperspace. Leia wasn't sure if the Emperor would be so quick to announce her and Vader's seeming defection, but she suspected that there would be some sort of excuse given to search the ship. She was extremely surprised when the flight went smoothly and uninterrupted.

"Not bad," Solo had gloated as they landed.

"It means that Palpatine wants to finish us off himself," she had snapped.

Solo had started to retort but a look from Luke had quieted him. Luke had the uncanny ability to look much older and more authoritative than a sixteen-year-old should be.

They had waited until nightfall to take Vader's stasis container out of the compartment. It had taken all three of them, since Vader was a big man before one took the heavy armor he wore into account. Leia would have normally just Force-lifted it out, but they had decided to keep a low profile in the Force. Han had been able to scout around for a good medic who knew the value of keeping its mouth shut. The medic, a Ho'din, had been quite willing to see them at such a late hour when Han presented him with a portion of the credits they'd withdrawn from Vader's account right after their escape, before it could be frozen. Another such portion, along with a not-so-subtle threat from Leia, assured his silence. Leia had originally suggested that they just kill the medic to ensure secrecy, but Luke had overruled her and she had been too tired to argue.

So here she was now, getting fitted for a better prosthetic forearm and staring at the soft glow on the wall from the bacta tank a room over. Her father was currently submerged in it to repair the damage done before he had been put in stasis. The medic had assured her that it was minor. She couldn't stand to look at him without the armor on. He looked so... vulnerable. Not the big, strong father she had been familiar with for twelve years. Just a man with no arms or legs and old scars covering him.

Solo walked over from where Luke and the Ho'din were working on repairing the life-support systems in the armor. It had only been a year since she had last seen him, but he looked very different from the Imperial Lieutenant she remembered. "So you didn't actually get transferred offworld."

"Nope. Freed Chewie and got drummed out of the Navy." He grinned lazily. "Regretted it at first, but I think I like being in business for myself."

"You just like having a ship with shields."

"Exactly." His grin faltered. "Sorry about..."

"Don't." She shook her head. "You hated him. Everyone did."

"That doesn't mean I can't give you my sympathies. He's your dad, after all."

"I don't need your sympathy," she said through gritted teeth.

"Yeah, well, you need something. Your dad's hurt, but he's alive. You're hurt, but you're alive. Your life's been thrown off track? Big deal." He waved an arm in an expansive gesture. "Look around you, sweetheart. The galaxy's full of people who've lost even more than you. You think I wanted to get kicked out of the navy and have to scrabble to try and land on my feet? You don't hear me whining about it." From the corner of the room where he was sitting, the Wookiee gave a soft, chuffling laugh. Solo either didn't notice or ignored it. "You have a father and a brother who love you. It's more than I ever had."

Leia set her jaw and said nothing. She was spared another tirade by Luke calling for Solo and Chewbacca to inspect a repaired mechanism. "I better be getting paid extra to put up with _her_," she heard Solo say loudly.

Luke's response was quiet and even-toned, though Leia couldn't make out the words. She heard Solo grumble something in reply, and then she could only hear the clicking of adjustments being made to the armor.

She sighed and wished once again that her father was out of the bacta tank to tell her it was all going to be okay.


	10. Chapter 10

_Author's note: Sorry this hasn't updated in so long! This has been a crazy year. Anyway, I'm trying to finish this in a timely manner and I hope you enjoy it. Sorry it's so short.  
_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. I do not intend to make any form of profit off of this story._

Chapter 10

Luke dozed in his chair. It had been nearly a day since the Ho'din had agreed to help them, and this was the first opportunity he'd had to sleep in that time. He was enjoying a surprisingly restful dreamless sleep when a hand on his shoulder shook him awake. "Yes?" he asked, rubbing at his eyes.

The Ho'din—he hadn't offered his name and they hadn't asked it—was looking down at him. "He is stable."

"Good!" Luke looked around for Leia, but didn't see her.

"Your sister is already with him. He is not out of the bacta yet."

"But you said he was stable?"

"I have already explained it to your sister. His suit was virtually all that kept him alive. Most of its mechanisms were destroyed, and it will take time to fix them. Additionally, the suit is much too... distinct... for a complete repair to be fully feasible."

Luke's heart sank. "What do you recommend?"

"He needs an environmental suit of some sort, as well as a respirator and prostheses. The one he was wearing previously was not only irreparably damaged, but..." The Ho'din sniffed. "It was of an extremely inferior construct to begin with. A simple bacta treatment at the time of the original trauma might have eliminated the need for an environmental suit if not a respirator, but it is entirely too late for that now."

That came as some surprise for Luke. He had been under the impression, given what he'd heard from Ben and the fact that Vader had been in the suit at all, that absolutely nothing could have been done to repair the initial damage.

The doctor was still speaking. "As a non-human, I do not have access to the best possible equipment for the task ahead through normal channels. However, with some additional funding, I may be able to acquire them through the black market. The cost will not be insignificant, but the equipment itself will be of vastly superior quality to anything that I can provide at the current moment."

"How conspicuous will they be?"

"Either version can be easily concealed with a cloak. That is probably the best you can hope for."

"I'll have to discuss it with my sister. Thank you, though."

The doctor bowed and motioned to the bacta room. Leia was standing in front of the tank, arms crossed. He could see one of her hands--the new prosthetic one, recently replaced with a more permanent model covered in synthflesh--was flexing and relaxing rhythmically. Her face was blank and unreadable, and her presence in the Force was drawn in on itself. "What do you think?"

She didn't jump or in any other way react to his appearance beside her. "We can afford the more expensive systems with money left over for passage off of Corellia."

"Okay. Now what are you _really_ thinking?"

"I'm _thinking_ that I'd appreciate it if you left me alone. Stop trying to get in my head."

"It's fair payback," he said, chuckling softly. "You spent all that time on Coruscant trying to get into mine."

"Shut up," she said, but there was no real malice in it. She sounded tired.

He examined the form floating in the tank. He couldn't see the resemblence to either himself or Leia in his father's features, but it was hard to tell between the medical equipment attatched to him and the old scars that covered him. His skin was ghostly pale from nearly two decades in the environmental suit in between raised faded scars, and the ends of the stumps of his limbs were twisted and raw from the prostheses that had been removed. Luke reached out in the Force and found that his father was still unconscious. "He's stable now. That's a good sign."

"Go. Away." Leia's voice was now quiet. He could feel her anger threatening to boil over.

"Leia--"

"I said, _go away._" He had to brace himself against the accompanying Force-push that she used to emphasize her words. Before either of them could react further, a flash in the Force caused them both to pause and stare at the tank.

Their father was awake. He was thrashing in the bacta, his eyes wide, reflexively lashing out in the Force and knocking objects off of a nearby table.

The twins held still for just a moment, and then Luke ran off in search of the doctor while Leia stayed and reached out in the Force, trying to soothe him.

Luke could hear Han and Chewbacca just outside of the operating room, talking about something. He didn't bother to make an effort do discern the topic of conversation, though; he had enough on his mind right now. He and Leia were assisting as best as they could as the doctor fitted their father with his new limbs.

The respirator had come first, with Luke using the Force to ensure that air continued to flow in and out of his burned lungs and Leia keeping him in a trance as the doctor worked. At this state, the Ho'din was uncertain about whether or not Vader could survive any anaesthetics that would normally be administered. Next had been the cervical implantation that stabilized once-destroyed vertebrae. With that done, the prosthetics were the next to be fitted. They were of a similar quality with Leia's prosthetic forearm, though without the synthskin. Since he needed to be completely encased in an environmental suit anyway, there was no need for synthskin. Again, Leia and Luke worked together to keep him unconscious.

"It is done. I will prepare the new environmental suit." The Ho'din lifted the goggles that he had worn during the procedure and walked to a hand-washing station.

"Is it safe for us to take him out of the trance?" asked Luke.

"For the moment, yes. This room is sterile." The doctor left the room. Leia and Luke locked eyes and released the trance.

Vader's eyes opened. His pupils were milky, his eyesight damaged on Mustafar. "Where am I?" he asked through the new voice synthesizer in his respirator. He frowned. "Why can't I see? Why can I not hear myself speaking?"

Leia reached out to him in the Force and told him, as best as she could manage, that he was safe and being helped. She turned to Luke briefly. "His eardrums were destroyed on Mustafar as well. Did your precious Kenobi tell you that?"

Luke ignored her words and added his Force-presence to Leia's, assuring his father that everything was fine for the moment. "I don't think Ben knew of the extent of the damage." Ben had known that killing Vader would have been a mercy, and had many times expressed his regret at not doing so, but Luke had enough sense to not bring that up at the moment.

The Ho'din came back into the main operating room with the new environmental suit. It was uniformly gray and anonymous, with a cowl instead of a helmet and a faceplate that resembled a Kel Dor or Gand's environmental mask rather than the menacing one that his original helmet had. The suit itself was fitted with electrodes similar to those in Vader's armor, though without the needles that had injected Vader with chemicals provided by Palpatine. The gray material was nowhere near as strong as the durasteel that had laced the old armor, but it was also many times lighter. The suit's power cells had been exchanged for Vader's old ones, which had been routinely upgraded to allow him to function for long periods of time without recharging them. He made no complaints as the suit was fastened around him. Luke wasn't sure if he kept his face neutral out of a force of effort or because the burned tissue would cause pain if pulled on.

The cowl was next, pulled securely over Vader's skull. The hearing apparatus was implanted securely and turned on, allowing Vader to hear for the first time since Coruscant. The eyepieces were likewise turned on. "How does it feel?" asked the doctor.

Vader's new respirator was much quieter, even if the breathing was still inhumanly regular. He was silent but for the steady noise of his breathing for several seconds. "It's not red."

Luke looked at Leia, perplexed, but her attention wasn't on him. She was trying to hide a smile and tears as she looked at her father.

The doctor seemed not to notice. "No, it's not. There is a helmet that fits over this, similar in design to a Mandalorian's helmet in that the controls for the suit are all inside of it. It will likely take much getting used to after the cruder design of your previous suit. I will be back to fit it in a minute." He bowed and exited the room again, leaving Luke and Leia alone with him.

Leia finally allowed herself to smile. "How does it feel?"

"Very strange. Light. I think... I think this is almost how I felt before Mustafar."

"Is that good?" asked Luke.

Vader turned to face him. It was strange, looking into this blank new face instead of the old one. "I'm not sure. It does not feel as secure, but I do not feel as much of a monster now."

"You were never a monster," Leia was quick to say. "Never."

"I was. I may still be." His quiet breathing continued as he stood and attempted to walk. He was unsteady, but quickly managed. Luke noticed that he seemed smaller in this suit. Not short or insignificant by any means, but less physically imposing still. "I had a vision in the tank."

"What?" Leia was strenuously ignoring Luke, who was trying to make eye contact with her.

"An old teacher of mine. I think that I reached out to him as I awoke. I know where he is... and I think he may be willing to take us in."

"Who?" Luke asked.

"Master Yoda," said Vader. No--not Vader. Anakin Skywalker, returned from the dead. "He is on a planet called Dagobah, and has been there for many years now. He may be able to help us."

"Yoda," exlaimed both twins. Leia sounded horrified, Luke amazed. Obi-Wan hadn't known what had become of Yoda, and Luke hadn't even been sure that Yoda was alive anymore. He felt suddenly thrilled at the thought of meeting his former mentor's old teacher.

"Do we have a way off of this planet?" Anakin continued.

"Yes," said Leia uncertainly. "We hired a smuggler. He has been of great help to us over the past few weeks."

"Weeks," said Anakin, sounding regretful. "I had not realized it had been so long. How is your arm, Leia? Your burns, Luke?"

"I'm good," said Luke. Leia held up her prosthetic and wiggled her fingers in answer.

"That's good." He turned and began walking in the opposite direction, growing more confident with each step. "I realize that I have not been the father that I should have been."

"Father--"

"But I want to be," he said, interrupting Leia. "I would like to be very much. I would like us to be a family. Your mother would have wanted it, as well."

Luke waited for him to say more, but he was silent again. "I'd like that as well," he said, looking at Leia.

Leia looked away, but nodded. "Me too."

The Ho'din came back with the helmet, also plain gray like the rest of the environmental suit. Luke didn't pay attention as he instructed Anakin on how the controls worked. Instead, he sat on his chair and lost himself in thought. Leia sat across from him, watching their father. Her prosthetic hand clenched and unclenched, clenched and unclenched.


End file.
